MVNO data price showdown
South Africa’s mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) market has exploded in recent years, and a MyBroadband analysis has revealed that Afrihost Air Mobile, Axxess Mobile, and Capitec Connect offer the best data prices.
However, this depends on the data allocation. Capitec Connect is the most affordable for 500MB bundles, Axxess Mobile offers the best 5GB bundle pricing, and Afrihost Air Mobile is the cheapest for 1GB and 10GB data allocations.
MVNOs are cellular service providers that don’t own network infrastructure and instead buy wholesale access from mobile network operators with infrastructure to provide connectivity to their subscribers.
The MVNO space in South Africa has seen a flood of new entrants in the past five years, and many players believe there is still plenty of opportunity for growth.
Capitec Connect currently ranks as the country’s largest MVNO. It recently revealed that it had over one million active SIMs on its virtual network.
FNB’s offering is the second largest, reaching 958,000 SIMs in 2024.
Cell C is the country’s most prominent MVNO enabler despite it no longer operating its own radio network.
Cell C’s chief officer of wholesale, Stephen Morony, recently told MyBroadband that the company sees plenty of opportunity for growth in the MVNO space and wants to expand its MVNO service offerings and improve scalability.
“Cell C continues to see significant and growing interest from new MVNO clients,” said Morony.
“This robust demand highlights the attractiveness of Cell C’s network and the overall health of the MVNO market, and the flexibility and comprehensive support Cell C offers.”
MTN South Africa has similar plans. It previously said there is still strong interest in the country’s MVNO space, with good growth still expected in the market.
“MVNOs, therefore, form a big part of our wholesale partner proposition, and our plan is to continue expanding and offering the best MVNO services to our customers,” it added.
Data price shootout
MyBroadband compared data prices across four common data bundle sizes for 11 of the country’s most prominent MVNOs.
At R22.50, Capitec Connect offers the most affordable 500MB data bundle of the 11 MVNOs compared, with Standard Bank Connect offering the next most affordable option at R25.
The data allocation provided by both bundles never expires.
However, it should be noted that while Shoprite K’nect’s 500MB is significantly more expensive at R35, the retailer provides Money Market account holders with a 50% discount on 500MB and 1GB bundles.
These customers pay the lowest price for a 500MB bundle.
Afrihost Air Mobile has the lowest price for 1GB of data at R30, valid for 60 days, with Shoprite K’nect being the next most affordable at R39, also valid for 60 days.
The Shoprite Money Market discount reduces the price of the 1GB bundle to R19.50.
Axxess Mobile’s 5GB bundle is the most affordable of the lot at R99, with Afrihost Air Mobile’s bundle with the same allocation being R1 more expensive.
The Air Mobile bundle is valid for 60 days, while Axxess Mobile’s data bundles are valid for 90.
Regarding 10GB data bundles, Afrihost Air Mobile is the most affordable at R150, with Capitec Connect and Melon Mobile being the next-cheapest at R199.
Below is a data price comparison across 11 of South Africa’s most prominent MVNOs.
| MVNO | Validity period | 500MB | 1GB | 5GB | 10GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afrihost Air Mobile | 60 days | – | R30.00 | R100.00 | R150.00 |
| Capitec Connect* | 30 days* | R22.50* | R45.00* | R145.00 | R199.00 |
| Melon Mobile | 30 days | R40.00 | R55.00 | R149.00 | R199.00 |
| Axxess Mobile** | 90 days | – | – | R99.00 | R249.00 |
| Me & You Mobile | 30 days | R39.00 | R55.00 | – | R249.00 |
| Shoprite K’nect*** | 60 days | R35.00/R17.50 | R39.00/R19.50 | R149.00 | R250.00 |
| FNB Connect | 30 days | R39.00 | R59.00 | R219.00 | R399.00 |
| Standard Bank Connect**** | 30 days | R25.00 | R50.00 | R229.00 | R399.00 |
| Hello Mobile***** | 30 days | – | R85.00 | R299.00 | R469.00 |
| Mr Price Mobile | 30 days | R59.00 | R89.00 | – | – |
| TFG Connect***** | 30 days | R45.00 | R69.00 | – | – |
| * Capitec Connect doesn’t sell 30-day data bundles below 5GB. Customers instead pay for data with airtime at one of South Africa’s lowest out-of-bundle rates. ** Axxess Mobile’s data allocations aren’t easily comparable to the rest, with the exclusion of its 5GB bundle. The pricing shown for 10GB is for 15GB of data. *** Shoprite K’nect provides Money Market account holders with a 50% discount on 500MB and 1GB data bundles. **** Standard Bank Connect’s 500MB and 1GB data bundles never expire if not used. The 5GB and 10GB bundles expire in 30 days if not used. ***** Hello Mobile and TFG Connect’s data bundles include an additional 500MB and 1GB of off-peak data. | |||||
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